Roaming Fees May Apply...

here is a really interesting editorial piece from the register. which tells the story of a third fiona apple album that has never been released.

according to the story, sony has held off on pressing the cd because they didnt feel that the record contained a pop hit in the spirit of nora jones, and would be popular enough to move her back catalog. so, sony has chosed to shelve the record until sometime in the future.

the record was recorded in 2003 and has eventually found itself being distributed online through bittorrent, which has enabled over 18,500 downloads. while 18,500 downloads isnt exactly a lot, it still is quite interesting considering that there has been no promotions and no production costs - simply her fans downloading her latest release.

so, the question is, why don't record companies enable the web for providing records in download only mode? this example proves that record companies can take chances with minimal production costs on records that they are hesitant on releasing. if the record turns out to be successful, they can simply turn on the presses.

just food for thought. check out the link.